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GOLD AND BLACK ILLUSTRATED VOLUME 28, ISSUE 1 29
D
Da'Wan Hunte considers himself a cheater.
Sort of.
The fifth-year senior cornerback intensely prepares,
studying so much film of opponents he feels like he knows
the ins and outs of what every receiver might do.
So, he's a cheat.
"In a good way," he said, flashing his characteristically
wide smile. "I try to take everything that a receiver likes to
do, or that an offense likes to do, and find a way to take that
away from them. It's been a success for me and that's been
the approach I've taken."
It's a reason why Hunte has turned himself into a pro-
ductive player as an upperclassman, one whom Purdue
counts on to lead from the secondary. His teammates re-
spect Hunte for it too, voting the Miami native one of Pur-
due's three defensive captains.
"He has a whole lot of heart," fellow cornerback Kamal
Hardy said. "We all look up to Da'Wan. We all feed off of
him."
Hunte, though, figures he's simply applying what he
learned from the veterans before him. He had good players
to model over the years, former teammates like Ricardo
Allen, Frankie Williams, Anthony Brown and Landon Fe-
ichter.
He credits them with shaping him into the player he is
today, Purdue's top cornerback and a consistent influence
on the defense.
"Those guys actually helped me in being able to break
the game down," Hunte said. "Once I started picking up on
things and learning, it helped me and bettered my game,
so I take pride in preparing because I feel like that's the
best way to beat your opponent, knowing what they're go-
ing to do and what they like to do.
"I know that I'm going to continue to get better when I
put more and more time into that."
It's a never-ending pursuit. In July, Allen, a starting safe-
ty for the Atlanta Falcons, was in West Lafayette for a youth
camp on Purdue's campus. And when he was here, he met
up with Hunte — the two were training camp roommates
in 2013, when Hunte was a true freshman and Allen a se-
nior, and have had a close relationship since — to work
out. Allen gave Hunte some pointers, as he's done over the
years, the latest lesson being a message about getting into
the top shape possible for training camp.
Hunte and Allen share a kinship. Neither is imposing
physically — Allen has bulked up (but not gotten taller)
in the NFL, as he shifted from cornerback to safety — but
they've learned to use what's available to them to be suc-
cessful.
For Hunte, that means gathering as much information
as he can to overcome other limitations. It's why he contin-
ues to listen to Allen or Williams or whoever else is around.
It's why he so intently looks at film, whether that be on his
tablet between classes or in the football offices or at home
late at night.
"I like to use my intelligence when it comes to the game
of football," the 5-foot-9, 190-pounder said. "That's mainly
what it is. I was taught that the game is 90 percent mental,
10 percent physical, and I live off that. That's how I approach
the game. I'm not the biggest, I'm not the strongest or the
fastest, but I'm going to find something to help myself be
successful, and I'm going to compete every play, every rep I
Born To Lead
On the second day of Purdue's training camp, Da'Wan
Hunte gathered the defense into a huddle.
A scuffle had broken out minutes earlier, drawing the
ire of Coach Jeff Brohm, and Hunte wanted to reiterate
the message, that the Boilermakers needed to avoid ex-
tracurriculars that wasted time.
And teammates listened, first jokingly hugging a
bunch of the offensive players, then cleaning up their act
for the rest of practice.
"It's one of those instances where someone has to
speak up," Hunte, a captain, said later. "And I felt like at
that moment, it was the right time. I'm not that type of
guy who is just talking to be heard, so at that moment, I
feel like guys needed to hear it, even if it wasn't coming
from me. Just pulling those guys to the side and letting
them know that at the end of the day, we are trying to
compete, of course, but at the same time we're trying to
protect one another, so that when Saturdays come we're
all together."
Cornerback Kamal Hardy, who transferred to Purdue
before the '16 season, says he learned quickly to follow
Hunte's lead.
"Hanging around him has most definitely influenced
me, on the field and off," Hardy said. "Even at the college
level, he practices like a pro, and he always tells us that,
'Play as if we're on the next level.' He makes that clear."
— Kyle Charters